


Infernal angels and Ethereal demons: Ashes and Darkness

by Lunar_Berry



Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Abandoned Work - Unfinished and Discontinued, Angels, Blood, Demons, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/F, F/M, Gore, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-09-28
Updated: 2014-11-23
Packaged: 2018-02-19 04:04:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2373833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunar_Berry/pseuds/Lunar_Berry
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Angels and Demons were fated to be forever in war, that was a fact. This time though, something changed, something shifted, and 2 opposing forces came together in unity, destined to be destroyed until all is shrouded in ash and darkness.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - The Fall and The ascent

The Angel

White marble stairs adorned with silver and gold glistening cichoriums and cupressus leaves seemed to blur past his eyes into one solid colour of cream. The low sun danced playfully on the horizon, but was quickly covered by clouds. The silence in his ears was deafening, the only sounds that broke the spell were his own heavy footfalls on the stairs. Iron shackles dug into his wrists but, thankfully, didn't draw blood, although red welts were beginning to blossom there.

The Archangels gripping his arms pushed him mercilessly up the grand staircase, lifting him harshly when he tripped. The only noise was their foot steps and rustle of their wing feathers trailing behind them.

“Stop here.”

Ray stopped. His head was swimming and his heart was racing. Nothing could compare to what was happening now, his inevitable fate of undiluted pain. Looking up, he saw an ArchSerapthim before him holding a tomb of gold. The Archangels behind him kicked the back of his legs, forcing him to the ground. His bound wings thumped against the cold marble and his legs cramped slightly.

“Ray Narvaez, Guardian of the Archangels and overseer of the Guard faculty. You have been hereby called upon the holy clouds of his Lord, God, by God himself. Your crimes against Heaven Capita are to be punished.” He began, voice spitting with authority.

At this point Ray had almost blacked out. He was gone. He had had a place of power thrust upon him with the untimely death of the previous Guard Angelica, not knowing at the time he would commit to doing something so unspeakably unholy.

“Your wings are to be ripped from you, your spirit is to be withheld in the vault of the Fallen as according to Archangel Michael's request, and you will not return to Heaven Capita. You will be stripped of your glyphes and runes. Raise forth, and receive your punishment. Your sins cannot be repented, your allegiance with God, his son Christ, and the divine being of Holy spirit is hereby broken.”

With that done, the ArchSerapthim closed his gold tomb and nodded his head, casting a glance at Ray. His gaze held no pity, making Ray feel numb. His mouth was dry and his breath caught in his chest, he could hear his blood pound through his ears and his hands felt slick with sweat.

The Archangels hauled him up to the huge stone plinth with inscriptions around the edges and forced him face down to the cool stone. He only had time to pull in a deep breath before the pain exploded all around him.

His back was on fire, he could feel the Archangels' hands on his wings, feel his blood already dripping down onto the cold stone, his head felt like it was going to burst. He could feel chunks of his wings fall down his back, and his mouth was full of blood, his breath was wrenched out of him when his wings were ripped free, the iron chains cut deep into his wrists as he strained in a futile attempt to protest. Only the ghost of a scream made its way through his lips before he was tumbling, falling, twisting and turning. Pure white clouds turned grey and he could only think of the pain shooting through his entire body before he closed his eyes in pain and let the waves of fire rip throughout him.

 

The Demon

Sighing to himself, Joel looked at his clock. 3 days he had been called by the Archdemon, Ryan, to visit him in a private conference. What surprised him more was that it was an Archdemon calling him, and not a suphialt-Incubus. Whatever it was he had done it had to be bad for someone higher than his division to call upon him. 10 minutes from now he would get to know the secrets, but he didn't have to set of just yet, instead he reclined in his office chair and kicked his feet onto his desk.

He could hear murmuring on the other side of his door, but he stopped listening when he heard a very loud woman shout at some poor demon for walking in her way.

“Pretentious bitch” he murmured while stroking his horns. His rune markings were glowing red, and recently they had been brighter too, “Maybe that virgin paid off well” he mused. Shaking his head he rose from his chair and walked to his door.

“Master Joel?” a small voice echoed into his mind.  
Cursing, Joel turned to his vault of souls and whacked a fist on the door.

“Shut it. The others don't talk, but that's because they learned their lesson.” He barked to the silver locks, then turned and left before the soul could reply.

Stomping down the red gravel paths and avoiding the odd patch of blood, Joel made his way to the high council courts. He had been before, and the black on red bricks were all to familiar as he weaved through waves of reeam demons, nodding at a few reapers he knew and returning 'hellos' of fellow incubus and succubus.  
He rapped his knuckles smartly on the gold doors and waited for the Serapthim to address him. The huge ornate doors swung open and Chris greeted him cheerily.

“Joel! Its been too long, but maybe that's a good thing. You are down for the 78:54 meeting and are...on time as always! You know you're way, you can head on in.”

“You're right, it has been too long. Don't let too many people in now.” Joel replied with ease, hiding his annoyance at overly happy demons was all too easy.

“If I did my job would be on the line along with my neck. Don't cheek the higher ones, you know what happened last time.”

Joel shuddered and walked into the reception, that wasn't a great thing to think about now he was here.

Giant hallways and shows of wealth were renowned in the council halls but were completely unnecessary. Gold, it seemed, was beginning to run short and Joel could see why. Rubies and Onyx created intricate patterns which seemed to occupy his every though, but upon tearing his eyes away he huffed to himself because the tell-tale silver sparkle of enchant runes danced on the surface of the gems.

“ _Probably to make you notice their wealth. Again_ ”

“Joel. Why are you not dressed in the appropriate attire?” A voice barked behind him.

Turning, Joel grinned at Burnie.

“I have a suit on!” He protested with a smile.

“Yeah, a shirt, pants and a jacket. You don't have a tie, your shirt is unbuttoned – of all the things I expect of you Heyman, you are non of them.”

“Ties make me look stupid. Besides, why are you even here?”

“I'm in your meeting.” Even though he said it proudly his eyes shifted to the ground.

“Ah, so it is bad.”

Burnie only nodded.

They continued to the room in silence and entered, Burnie taking his seat on Joel's right, and Joel took his seat in the middle of the room. They were nearly the last two in, the only person left to arrive was the demon who had called the meeting.

“ _Speak of the devil and he should appear._ ” Joel mused as the doors behind the Grand chair opened.

 

“Rise.”

 

Everyone stood up and Ryan walked in. His blood red eyes swept across the room and settled on Joel. He sat down, and everyone followed suit.

 

“Joel Heyman.”

 

Joel lazily flicked his black eyes up to meet Ryan's red ones.

“Present.” He drawled.

Ryan's eyes narrowed as he picked up prepared files.

 

“Joel Heyman, Detles Incubus, you have been called to this meeting regarding your-” Ryan paused, and smiled, “- profession.”

At this Joel gave one short chuckle which made Ryan lift his head from his papers.

“You have carelessly allowed a hasvhim to be conceived. You are to kill the child and its mother”

“ _That's not too bad. There must be a catch...”_

Joel leaned back in his chair, the gold uncomfortably warm now he had been sitting for a while.

“On your journey, however, you must take a deteliapthim and hone his, ahem, abilities. We have no record or evidence of his abilities and you must return with the dead child, mother, and deteliapthim. The deteliapthim must have complete control over their abilities, and if not the deteliapthim should also return dead. Your time is unlimited due to the nature of the deteliapthim's abilities. Also, while outside of Hell I will have a list sent to you of souls you must reap." He paused. "Leave now.”

And with that he got up a swept out of his chair and was gone. The council members left immediately after, but not without glances of sympathy.

The child and mother would be easy kills, the demon would just be an annoyance, the reapings however were like shoving him face first into dirt. He stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him.

“ _Me! Reaping! How insolent. I doubt he's even seen a reaping happen. How dare he make me do a peasant's job!”_

His tirade of insults was kept up until he returned to his office and found the dispatch gate where he would meet the deteliapthim on a note on his desk. He ran a hand though his hair and grabbed a bag, putting in a spare suit and some books, then left for gate HCLH.

 

 

 


	2. A helping hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray is graciously taken in by two healers not knowing he might be in more danger than safety.

Fresh blood and old scars

Blood. He was in a pool of deep red, sticky, warm, fresh blood. He moved his hands out to his side but jerked them back in when he ran them lumps on the ground. Turning his head to the side he saw that the lumps were actually flesh, pink lumps. His head swam and he faced up. He was on the floor in blood, his own blood, with lumps of his flesh. He had fallen. His wings were gone. He didn't know how long he was there but at some point he began to feel faint, so he rolled over and pulled himself on to his hands and knees.

Blood was everywhere, his whole body ached and trembled with pain, but amidst his struggling he wondered how someone could lose so much blood and still survive. Ray crawled over to a tree and wrenched himself up and began to walk though the think forest he was in, trudging, stumbling, blindly wandering somewhere, anywhere, and looking up in despair he cried out in frustration as night drew upon him. The air grew cold and he started to feel himself turn numb, but he couldn't tell if it was the pain or the cold. His footsteps echoed with the crunch of decomposing leaves and the occasional squirrel or bird took off in surprise as he staggered though the dark wood. Eventually, however, he fell onto his knees, then his front, and laid his head on the hard soil, and blacked out.

 

Ray awoke to a morning chorus of birds and as he stirred he felt jolts of excruciating pain flash through him. Groaning in pain he opened his eyes, and upon studying the ground in front of him he realised it had been raining, or at the least it was very humid. Dew drops covered the ground like sparkling orbs, catching the sun in ways he would have loved to watch for hours if he had not been in the middle of a forest with open wounds. Though the pain was a little less it was still bad and most of the day had passed when he was blessed with a cobble road. The stones weren’t ideal for walking on but it would take him to a town, and towns had healers.

 

He must have walked miles and miles until he saw the outline of walls and roofs. With renewed hope Ray's pace quickened, he fought the fast coming fatigue and his body's yearning to give up, all the pain could wait just a bit more until he got there. As he neared the gates the guards must have noticed he was injured as they rushed forwards and helping him up gingerly, putting all of his weight on themselves. They must have been only a few feet into the town when Ray passed out.

 

“...deep wounds...”  
“..how did he... died?”

“its a miracle...infection...”

Voices. They floated around, their jumbled words confused him. Ray took in a deep breath and immediately coughed, the force lifting him and sending shock waves of pain down his back.

“He’s awake already?”

Ray looked to his left and saw a man with a large beard, to his right was a scrawny man with a funny hair cut.

“It seems like this man is extraordinarily good with his health, besides the obvious of course.” He turned from his friend to look at Ray. “Hello, My name is Adam and this is Ben. The guards brought you here last night, and with good time too. Those cuts are pretty deep and its a miracle you survived.” He explained, Ben nodding where he thought it right to.

“Would you mind telling us about yourself?” Ben asked, sitting down on a stool as Adam took a chair from the end of the room and brought it over.

“ _They obviously want an explanation, but what do I say?_ ” Ray thought, hesitating as Adam and Ben waited patiently for him to begin.

“My name is Ray Narvaez. I was travelling by myself when I noticed a... strange light in the forest. It was moving, so I followed it but I got lost. I must have spent ages trying to retrace my steps and when I was about to give up something attacked me from behind. I didn't see it at all, it just cut me and left. I walked through the woods for ages and ages until I found a road, and I arrived here. I passed out just as me and the two guards got inside the town.”

Adam and Ben listened to his story and seemed to buy it, and if they didn't they were good at hiding it.

“Well, you can stay here until you get better. Maybe even work with us.” Ben said, “we always offer a job to passers through. We need all the help we can get, there's only two of us for this town.”  
“I would be really thankful. I will stay and help you. Besides, I don't even know where I was going, I've completely forgotten everything before the incident.” Ray replied.

“That settles it then, we'll leave you to rest now.” Adam added, and stood up to leave. Both he and Ben walked out of the room and left Ray to himself, and once they had closed the door all Ray could do was close his eyes and let sleep wash over him.

 

 

“..ay...Ray...Ray?”

Ray could hear Adam's voice but he could only focus on his back, which was now just throbbing with a dull ache. Groaning, he opened his eyes to see a very concerned Adam.

“Your cuts. They've completely healed over, they are just scars.” He said, and pointed to a mirror, presumably to get Ray to examine his back.

Ray clambered out of the warm and comfy bed to pad across the cold wood floor and dragged his eyes up to the mirror. Adam held out a second one so he could see his back and the scars; Adam was right. There were 2 jagged and lumpy lines from the lower half of his back travelling up to his shoulder blades.

They stood in silence before Adam told Ray to join him and Ben for breakfast.

 

Over breakfast they discussed healing, how to do the basics, what he would need, and Ray said he was feeling well enough to start that very day. After breakfast Ben showed Ray his new room and gave a tour of their house. They had 10 rooms which sick and injured people could be held in, Ray's room, Ben's room, Adam's room, 2 bathrooms, a living room, a kitchen, and a dining area. They also had a garden of which Adam kept clean and was very proud of – Ray was told that Adam took pride in using the flowers to brighten up the house.

At the moment all the rooms were free, but Ray was warned that the town's soldiers were returning from a hunt and he was to expect most if not all the rooms to be filled.

 

 

As it happens all the rooms were filled. Cuts were cleaned and treated, bones strapped, and illnesses were starting to be cured.

“For your first day-” Adam started,

“And one of our very busy days-” Ben interjected,

“-you did pretty good Ray.” Adam finished with a playful glare shot at Ben.

“It was pretty scary, I'll admit that much.” Ray said while he put down his book, 'Gulliver's Travels'.

“Well, with today over and done with we can keep an eye out for night incidents, but we can all retire to our chambers. I've locked up, and I'm going to blow out all the bottom floor and ill room candles.” and with that Adam got up and started his round.

“I'm going to go upstairs too, good night Ray.” Ben said, blowing out the candle at his table.

“Yeah, I' coming too. Good night Ben. Oh, and Ben?” Ray replied after blowing out the last candle in the dining room. The dim light from the hallway cast Ben's face into a shadow.

“I'm very thankful for everything you and Adam have done for me, I can't possibly return that amount of kindness.”

“Don't worry about it, just keep helping like you did today. The extra help was life saving, were thanking you for staying with us. You are the first to stay and help, so thank you.” He said, and walked up the stairs.

Ray knew he liked Adam, but Ben was...to be watched. He glanced out of the window a moment to see it was raining, and then he closed the door and headed up to bed.

 

Ray didn't sleep that night, it was far too cold, the rain was far too loud and the shadows seemed to move around him, slinking back to the dark when ever he glanced their way. He watched the sun rise slowly and got dressed with care. He ate his breakfast in silence and he seemed to be on auto pilot for the rest of the day. The only thing he noticed where Ben's eyes, a little too dark, his movement a little too careful, his words always a little too thought through and Ray couldn't for the life of him forget the image of Ben shrouded by darkness, the light behind him like a fire which promised death to anyone who were to oppose it. It made cold trickles course though his body whenever they touched, his breath turn short and the air turn to ice.

 

Ray wondered if Ben was human at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The official chapter 1 is here! This time we visit Ray's point of view, next time we'll pick up with Joel and missions.
> 
> Please leave me those little hearts to say you like the story; I'll know I'm writing it good!


	3. A gate from Heaven to Hell (or near enough)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel is quite angry at having to escort Gavin around the Earth plane, but will they find their original targets or will they get distracted?

A gate from Heaven to Hell (or near enough)

Joel groaned. Joel sighed. Joel even yelled out his frustration to one of his already battered souls. He had some time to get his things together, but he had some more time to take out his frustrations on something that couldn't fight back. He paced his office for a bit then wrenched the soul gate in his room open.

 

The souls inside flinched back as soon as the door open and pressed themselves against the wall when they saw his murderous glare. Joel didn't speak a word as he sunk a fist into Martyn's face, a particularly lippy soul with one hell of an attitude. No one spoke as he gripped the soul's shoulder and man handled him up the wall. No one spoke when Joel shoved his knee into Martyn's chest and only the souls flinched when Joel sunk his teeth into the soul's neck, Joel ravished in the blood that welled in his mouth, and Martyn's anguished cry of pain only spurred him on ripping out another chunk. Pulling back, Joel started to pace in front of his quivering soul, then he whirled and planted his hand on Martyn's arm and another on his neck. Joel only paused a moment to smile devilishly, then he ripped the arm, twisting it, bending it so much that it cracked twice and fell down limply to Martyn's side, the soul's face was stuck in an expression of shock and pain, the ghost of his scream echoed through Joel's ears, but he wasn't done just yet.

He grabbed the arm again and trailed his hand up it, squeezing on the elbow so much that it too cracked and Martyn doubled over only to be forced back up as Joel's free hand crashed into his chin. Joel could feel his anger start to ebb away, and finished his job by fully wrenching Martyn's arm from his body with a deafening crack that seemed to reverberate throughout Joel's body in pleasant waves that soothed him, blood poured over his hands and he chucked the arm to the side while he kicked the soul down to the floor, his foot forcing Martyn's head to the ground. Joel took a deep, serene and completely calm breath, the turned around wordlessly and shut the soul gate door. He heard the groans of Martyn and smiled to himself while making a mental note to dump him and his detached arm in the Pit and replace him with a new soul.  
  
Joel walked over to his room and picked up a Hell certified backpack and folded up 2 suits, placing them into the bottom of the backpack. Licking some of the dried blood on his mouth reminded him he needed to clean himself up, so he stripped and entered his shower. The suds were tinged pink and Joel's teeth had bits of flesh stuck between the gaps. Washing was an easy job all considering, and brushing his teeth just seemed like a chore. Some demons didn't clean themselves up at all and roamed round permanently covered in blood with a crazed look in their eyes.

 

' _Disgusting_ ' he thought, ' _they only seek attention though intimidation and that hardly works well._ '

Shutting off the water, Joel stepped out of the shower and dried himself. He chose out a black suit, dressed, and went back to packing.

' _A change of clothes, weapons? Hmmm, a dagger ought to be okay for now, I'll pick up my Moissanite broadsword on my way out. That ought to be everything I'll need then._ '

 

Joel picked up his backpack and hung it lazily over a shoulder then set out, picking up his Ares on the way. As he walked down the familiar paths some demons nodded to him in acknowledgement, other looked away. The Hell certified backpacks showed you were leaving, you were going to the human realm, and usually that meant the holder of the backpack was in a surly mood. The human realm was just a burden of a place, ask any demon and they would agree. Their system was simple; reapers get souls, demons own them and torture them, Hell itself ran on the pain and fear and suffering of the last remnants of a human.

His runes had become very dull over the past hour and they had hardly moved at all. Surprisingly, his horns were aching a little. Joel put it down to the dread of the Rising, besides, demons couldn't get ill. They bled, sure, but they healed almost as quickly as they got hurt and whatever had done the damage was as good as dead unless it was an angel.

' _Angels. Demons. Were all basically rejected angles down here, though it is so much fun even if we have never seen Lucifer himself._ ' Joel mused; the subject of angels and demons was something he interested in a great deal.

' _Don't eat, don't sweat, don't even need to breath – we really have it good._ ' he thought, but as a Reeam bumped into him and started a tirade of apologies his second thought was ' _well, almost good._ '

Joel just glanced at the Reeam and stepped once then turned to plant his fist squarely in the Reeam's jaw. Laughing, he walked on and smiled as the demons in front of him separated a little more than they had done before.

 

HCLH, gate 11, was almost deserted; there were 3 demons by the steps and 1 at the top of them. Joel assumed the demon at the top was the one he had to train to he walked up to him.

 

“Deteliapthim?” he asked, squinting a little when the demon smiled at him.

 

“Yup! You must be the incubus – My name is Gavin!” he said, extending a hand, so Joel shook it and replied,

 

“I'm Joel. Have you ever rised before? Also, what's up with the accent?”

 

“Heh, I'm British, silly. And I've never rised before, is it fun?”

“It's certainly something, and that something isn't fun.” Joel said, watching the demon's smile falter then slide of his face.

 

They both walked inside the gate and Joel stopped Gavin on a gold plinth and told him to stay still. The quartz seemed to glimmer around them, a large contrast to what was about to happen. Joel walked over to a plinth next to Gavin.

 

“Any minute now the scheduled rise will happen, I'm just glad no one has to initiate it. We would be here all day, okay, don't hold your breath, stand as still as you can, ignore any voices, any pain, and for the love of the devil _don't_ open your eyes.” Joel instructed, and then closed his eyes.

The deteliapthim next to him took a deep breath and let it out again. Joel just shook his head and smiled.

 

“ _I trusted you!”_

“ _You drank my blood, you tore me apart, you ate my flesh and used my bones as daggers!”_

“ _I'm going to drag my nails over your heart and use the blood from you to bathe in”_

 

The voices stated, their empty and pathetic threats falling round him. Joel knew if he opened his eyes he would be greeted with bodies; decaying flesh, the stench of burnt skin, completely white sunken eyes, black bones pleading to rip him apart and every single dead victim of his would haunt him. Even Joel, a psychopath with little to no limits, wouldn't want to open and see the horrors he had created. They would just repulse him, and he wished he could kill them all again in disgust. Some would call him cowardly for keeping his eyes closed, but he knew that cowardice had nothing to do with it, the sight was just plain boring.

 

The next thing he felt was a cold, rancid breath on his neck, nails trying and failing to puncture his skin, and hands trying to twist him – break him. Joel stayed still and smiled, he loved riling the protectors up.

 

“Joel...back again....I...ssseeeee....”

 

He recognised the voice to be Alpten, his favourite protector. He hummed out his response, not wanting to breathe the murky air.

 

“On a verrrry....long.... outing I ssseeee....”

 

Again Joel hummed, and he felt Alpten wrap a hand around his throat.

 

“If only I could....draw your breath.....kill you.....your friend isn't doing wellllll...” Alpten hissed out, and Joel would just imagine the grin on his face. He knew Alpten was only trying to draw out a reaction and his smile grew wider.

 

“You will...taunt us...once too often... Heymannn” he whispered, he teeth grazing Joel's neck, then he left and Joel could feel the air warm up again as his feet grew red hot, and he then knew he was in the human realm.

Joel looked to the side to see Gavin standing still, unharmed, but looking absolutely terrified.

 

“Were here.” Joel stated. His smile turned into a sly grin as Gavin scowled at him.

 

“You said it would hurt!” He accused, stalking over to Joel and looking him standoffishly.

 

“What can I say, I'm a demon. You were pretty scared though.”

 

“Dick.” Gavin huffed, and turned his back on Joel.

 

“Before we try to find out where we are, I need to know about anything you can do, just in case you fuck us over.” Joel said, and Gavin turned back to face him again.

 

“Well, I've noticed that I can do this...” Gavin muttered, his gaze concentrated on his open palm. Soon there were small sparks and pops of black electricity, searching the air, and one ventured towards Joel who was now backing off.

 

“Gavin, stop. I get it. Gavin, you really need to listen to me. Sto-” and with gritted teeth Joel had to summon a fire rune to protect him from the magic. “Gavin!”

 

“Well, take it as pay back for earlier. Let’s go find some place to stay the night so I can think about how much an arsehole you're turning out to be.” He retorted.

 

Joel just huffed and stomped past him, making sure to bang into him as he went. Gavin sighed, and not wanting to push his luck he followed Joel, making sure he threw a few good glares in here and there. The pair trekked through the silent woods; any animals that were there were now gone and even the air seemed to part in their wake as they trudged through the now desolate forest. The twigs and leaves under their feet didn’t dare crunch or snap, and the only sound was both their quiet, steady breaths.

  
After some time a strange scent clouded the air, suffocating the demons and making their eyes fall blooded tears and their throats burn.

 

“Jesus! What the hell-uff!” Gavin started, but Joel cut him off by ramming a fist into his stomach. When Gavin stared up at him accusingly Joel silently raised a finger to his lips, effectively silencing Gavin.

Joel tentatively sniffed and retched before heading in the direction where the smell was the strongest. In a clearing of blackened plants there was a pool of dark blood, chunks of flesh, and a few large light brown yet blood stained feathers.

 

“Fallen angel” Joel hissed through gritted teeth. Sniffing again he muttered, “They’ve left though. We need to follow the path, there’s a chance they could die. Oh, you’ve never experienced a fallen angel, have you? They only smell like this when they fall, other times they smell like the most attractive thing to you - no one knows why, so don’t look at me like that. It’s only been known to demons that fallen angels smell like that because they become half demonic as a ‘curse’ and that only 1 demon will be attracted to them. Like a soulmate if you want to believe in that stuff. We need to find this angel.”

 

“Tracking. That, I can do.”

 

Joel said nothing as he followed the scent to a cobble road, but it was only then he realised that he and Gavin needed to hide their horns, eyes, and Joel’s runes.

 

“Gavin, come here a second. I need to conceal your horns and eyes.” Gavin nodded and stepped up to him.

 

Joel’s runes flashed a fiery red as he cast a glyph over the young demon’s head. Moments after that, the air rippled around Gavin and only a slight shimmer hinted at where is horns had been. His golden eyes turned to a flat green and also shimmered slightly.

 

“Feels like there’s cold water on me” he commented, but Joel didn’t reply.

 

Joel cast a glyph over himself, and felt ice water run down his head and over his eyes and arms. The once red glowing runes of his arm (as well as his chest and back, he presumed) shimmered into almost on existence and his horns also felt pretty cold. His red eyes stung a bit, but from past experience he knew they had changed to a dull brown.

 

“Let’s follow his trail.” Joel said, “The earthy smell gives it away that the fallen angel is male.”

 

Gavin nodded, and the two set out on the cobble path together, the darkness beginning to shroud the earth.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this ones late, I had some internet troubles. This chapter is a bit longer than the rest so I'm going to keep trying for 4 pages and event.  
> Also note that Joel's sword is called Ares.  
> Kudos please? <3


	4. I've still got fight in me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray needs to arm himself, and we find out just how good he was at fighting alongside and conducting the Angel armies. Also, Barbara.

I've still got some fight in me

“You need to get yourself armed, this town is small and quiet but there are still people who are gonna mess with you. Take this” Adam tossed Ray a bag of coins, “And go visit Barb. 2 streets down, first left and down a small alley.”

“This early?” Ray complained, revelling in his bed’s warmth.

“Go. You’re no use to us injured.”

“Fine, fine.” He grumbled, dragging himself out of bed.

“ _Weapons, huh? I’ll show you how a real warrior fights.”_ He thought, glaring in the direction of where Adam left.

 

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...

 

Ray entered the weapons shop, rows and rows with stacks upon stacks of swords, bows, arrows, rapiers, shields, cleaning ointments, and of course there was a dummy at each shelf for practise.

“Hello! Welcome! Is there anything you want in particular?” A cheery blonde spoke up while walking out to him from behind the counter.

“Actually, I'm looking for rapiers. You got anything good?” Ray replied, tracing a finger along a magnificent metal bow with silver leaf decorations.

“Ah, we have a pretty good range of the finest rapiers in the land. Well, almost.” She replied, and turned to walk towards the back of the store.

Ray followed, the dusty shelves were caked in dirt and the odd clear patches were weapons had once lain.   
“Oh, also, my name is Barbara but just call me Barb.”

“Sure. I'm Ray.”

She nodded in acknowledgement and stopped in front of a heavily stocked shelf of metal.

“Unfortunately, not many people favour the thin blade any more. Although, this leaves you plenty of choices!”

“Those people don’t know the art of battle then.”

“Indeed they don’t. So, take your pick.” She nodded to the shelves.

Ray stepped up to the first shelf and trailed a finger along the steel blades. “ _Sturdy, but not flexible. Might easily break with too much force.”_ He moved past the shelf as it was full of steel, and he moved on to a shelf with dull iron and an ivory sign which proclaimed “Ferrous”. Light glinted of the blades but none took his fancy. What did, however, was a gleam from a shelf 2 rows down. A lustrous silver blade with runes – “ _Runes?_ ” – and engraved Latin.

“Latin” Ray said, picking up the blade to examine it.

Barbara shrugged. “I don’t know how to read it, but it looks pretty fancy. Do you know Latin”

Ray shook his head. “It’s not a language many speak any more…”

The inscriptions were filled with chiselled words that meant nothing to Ray.   
  


_Lacubus,_ _de_ _morte ~ ortu_ _~_ _oblivionis_ _~_ _Perditio_ _~_ _Evacuat_ _sanguinis._

He traced the golden hilt; the sharp spikes that curled into a casket to protect his hand pointed with silver caught the light in a strange fixating way. Garnets shaped into spikes curved into the hilt too, and jet black sapphire spheres danced around the lower hilt. A spicate danburite crystal fixed in place with aurelian piercings marked the end of the handle, the point closest to him ended in a titanium awn. Ray picked up the deadly blade and twirled it to point at Barbara’s heart. Giving him a smile, she pushed it down with the flat of her palm.

“You caught your hand in a spike.” She stated.

Looking down he saw some specks of blood where a spike had cut into him.

“I guess I’ll have to be more careful then. Care to duel?”

She smiled wickedly. “Follow me, I have a back room especially fitted to duels. But tell me, why do you like that particular rapier. Why not these others,” she waved a hand to the shelves as they passed them, “leaf decorations are so much nicer than that deadly thing. In fact, it was left just outside my shop one morning. Of course, I took it in, why wouldn't I? I just have no idea of anything about it! I don’t even recognise some of the metals and I've been in this profession for almost 15 years.”

“Ah, I’m quite knowledge with weapons. This blade is composed of gold, silver, titanium, and if I’m not mistaken the connection binds are magnesium. This is Garnet, danburite and this is black sapphire.” Ray pointed to each component as he mentioned them.

“You are a master of the trade then, sir,” she replied, “and the first to even want to pick up that rapier since I placed it on that shelf.”

They walked into a barn which had a lone horse stabled and a few weapon tables. A smeltery burned away merrily in a corner, and there were some heavily used anvils had chains hung above then with cut out blades.

“Ah, you forge your own weapons too?” Ray asked, eyes flitting over the many chains, hilts, blades, bows and arrow casts.

“Yes. In have my own personalised weapon too.” She replied, going over to a large cabinet.

“Don’t you lock your stores?”

“I don’t need to. I’ll have the head of any unfortunate soul who thought it good to steal placed on a plaque in my shop window.”

“I don’t doubt you would.” Ray commented. “Also, who’s the horse?”

“Oh, my cute little pony! She’s called atropine, like the-”

“Plant, belladonna. I knew a poisons master once.”

“Yup. She's a little quiet, but she’s the best. Now, are we gonna duel or what?” She commented with a sly grin.

Ray wordlessly raised the rapier as Barbara produced a mace. His mind whirred with facts and strategies.  
“ _Mace, power, she’ll swing it left as she’s right handed, she’ll go for the head, weak points are my sides and arms, she’ll use it with brute force, it’ll be hard to get past her defences._ ” He thought, and assumed his fighting position as he had done so many times before, feet parallel to his shoulder, back straight, rapier horizontal in a neutral state. The rapier, although cold and dangerous, seemed like home in his hand.

Both parties stared each other down, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Barbara’s ready position left no spaces undefended while Ray left everything on open, opting to now position his rapier in an upward position and use his other hand for balance low behind.

The Barbara lunged.

Ray feinted to his left and brought the rapier down but was met with the pole of her mace; he parried it and ducked low to the left again. Barb swung out her mace as Ray rolled to his right and flicked his rapier to scrape her arm, but it wasn't enough to deeply cut her. The smile was now gone from her face as she lunged again, this time raining down blows that Ray could only just keep up with as he chanted out his moves in his head. Duck. Parry. Duck. Roll. Parry. Parry. Lunge. Each command instructed his limbs to move, the rapier was quick and agile, light and thin. They twirled around the room, and Ray was struck with an idea. He backed off towards the hanging chains while feigning defence and rolled to his left again, this time however he twirled around and used as much force as he could to drive the point of his rapier into a notch in Barb’s mace, forcing it upwards and with a flick of his wrist the mace was wrenched from her grasp and tangled in the chains. He whirled and pointed his rapier at her neck.

“I win.”

“Damn, I really thought I had you at one point. You are very talented, especially risky too. You need to work on your defence points.” She laughed as she reached up and untangled her mace.

Ray set down the rapier and helped her pull it down, “It’s all part of the act. Besides, caring to much about one point leaves another exposed. If I don’t care about any and avoid attacks I don’t need defence points.”

“That’s pretty clever now I think about it. No wonder you choose a rapier to fight with, you’re very much like on. Fast, clever. I guess brute force doesn't always win.”

“It took a lot of practise though, and a lot of blood too.” He grimaced, remembering when Michael had once taught him to fight. Michael had basically given Ray his title, and Ray in return helped him with knowledge. They had been a very formidable team, but those times were now over.

“I’ll take this one then, I think I’m gonna like her.” He grinned, the light metal already feeling familiar to him.

“That’s good, I never thought I’d ever get rid of it! In fact, you can have it for half because you won our fight. That’ll be 199 please.”

Ray handed over the money and also bought a belt with a hook to holster his rapier on, and bid farewell to Barb.

His rapier hung duly at his side; ready, but waiting for its next round of combat.

“Eos _, I like that name. I’ll call my rapier_ Eos _._ ”

Ray walked through the winding alleys and streets, smells of freshly baked bread and roasted vegetables filled the air, and as Ray walked his way around the town he almost forgot to regret his falling.

 

Almost.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think a rapier suits Ray, fast but still strong.   
> Leave some little hearts to show you're love!


	5. Round of applause

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel and Gavin find their fallen angel. That is all.

Round of applause

Joel and Gavin arrived at a high town; the hillock it was on was covered with flowers, small trees and other fauna. There were 2 horse carts travelling into the town, “ _trading I guess_ ” Joel thought, the clop of their hooves echoing into the valley. As the duo approached the gate two guards stepped down from their posts, one with his spear and one with a book and quill.

“Names.” The book and quill guard barked.

“Joel Heyman and Gavin Free.” Joel replied, smiling inwardly as he sensed Gavin’s panic.

“ _Joel! Why are we using our real names?_ ” Gavin thought into Joel’s mind, his words tripping over his mind which Joel could tell was working itself into a panic.

“ _No reason to. Calm down, the guard will think something’s up. There only so much I can concentrate on at a time, I can’t influence them both, rewrite their thoughts, and keep us concealed._ ”

Gavin calmed down a bit and the guards let them into the town after jotting down their names. It also hit Joel that it was the first time that Gavin had communicated telepathically, and for that he wondered why.

 

As Joel and Gavin stepped into the town Joel sniffed the air and led them on the first track to find the fallen angel. The iron and earth smell was still strong, so the angel had passed here still injured from his fall. After walking down some streets they arrived at a large sick house. Joel could feel 5 people there, but none of them were the angel.  
The second track took them past some food stalls, and although the items smelt appealing neither Joel nor Gavin felt like they wanted to eat, even if it was just for pleasure. Past the stalls, the scent took them on a sharp left, down dark and damp alleys and though arches until they arrived at a weapons shop. The cheery woman inside invited them in, but after looking around they found that the angel was long gone. After bidding the shopkeeper goodbye Joel and Gavin set of following the scent, now just back to the earthy tones and what Joel could detect a faint smell of honey. Shaking that thought he filled Gavin in and led them back onto the streets.  
The trail turned them to a courtyard, and in the middle, and an amphitheatre in the middle. The small streams around the edges trickled gently and reflected the sun in their clear waters. Ornate stone bridges over the water turned into small stone trees and real trees were placed in a circular pattern with bursts of flowers here and there. Joel could see the seats of the theatre were full, so he silently instructed Gavin to stay in line with him outside the theatre so if the angel tried to get away they could effectively trap him.

The current play being performed was ‘The Conscious Lovers’, and Joel began to find himself becoming more and more distracted, but mostly because the actors were mediocre at best. He was only pulled back to reality when Gavin alerted his thoughts and mentally shouted at Joel. Joel flushed slightly in embarrassment and he quickly regained concentration, covering his marks (which were glowing a faint pink, as if his skin were scarred) and checking his eyes and horns (both were good).

Working his way silently over to the main concentration of the scent which was becoming more potent as he moved over to the east side of the theatre, and he distinguished the scent as honey and chocolate. Maybe undertones of cinnamon, but now he was just being fancy with the smells. He took a seat next to a tanned man with dark hair and brown eyes, black glasses and a magnificent rapier at his side. Now Joel could feel the vibrations from the man he knew for certain he was the fallen angel.  
“ _Lets put those charming skills to use then, -_ Gavin, no speaking – _and I mean it._ ” He thought, and turned to the angel.

“British comedy is pretty dry don't you think?” Joel whispered.

“No, its the only thing we have since they decided our theatre for us.” The man replied, equally hushed.

“Shame. You look like someone with great tastes, especially in swords.” Joel looked pointedly down at the ornate rapier.

“Sush and watch the play.” The angel quipped, and turned to face the stage again.

“But the actors are so bad...” Joel whined, hoping to get a response but the angel stayed silent, he did however have a small smile playing at his lips. With a small smile and a huff, Joel turned to watch the play too.

 

 

“They don't deserve a standing ovation. That was terrible.” Joel muttered, but stood and clapped anyway.

“And you could do better?”

“Of course I could!”

“Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. What's your name by the way?”

“Joel,” He extended his hand to shake with the angel's, “and your's?”

“Ray.” he replied, “it's nice to meet you, Duyomsay.” With that he dropped Joel's hand and turned to walk away.

“Wait, what? A what, what did you just? Call me?” Joel grabbed Ray's arm, and forced him round.

“ _Demon. Leave me be, I have no business with you._ ” Ray whispered into Joel's mind, and looked into his eyes determinedly.

“ _Yes, but I have no business with you either. A deteliapthim and I are travelling, we passed your fall site and we were obviously concerned for you"._ Joel replied, and let go of Ray to fall into step beside him as they walked out of the amphitheatre.

“ _Since when can a demon feel?_ ” Ray thought.

“ _Just because you angels aren't allowed to feel. We are dark angels, we can do whatever and feel whatever we want, mostly. We have our rules just as you have- well, had. You realise how much you're missing out on? Dark angels such as myself can feel, taste, and form bonds even though we don't need to._ ” Joel sneered, his superiority was something he always flaunted.

“ _That's interesting. You smell strange, Oh, wait, can I say that without you ripping off my head?”_ He shot back sarcastically.

“ _No, I think you're an okay angel. Fallen, sorry, I'll not leave that out. What do I smell like?_ ” He started and stifled a laugh when Ray looked at him with a glare that rivalled Ryan's.

“ _Well, you smell like smoke, but nice, and pumpkins, you know, all spicy and sweet – I mean, pumpkins are nice and-_ ”

“You're blushing _._ ” Joel spoke up while he gave Ray a playful push with his elbow.

“I'm not! Stop that!” Ray retaliated by shoving his demon friend to the side, something he never would have done if his head wasn't cloudy.

“You are, lets go get something to eat.” Joel said while steering Ray to the street he could smell the fresh food being cooked on.

“ _You don't need to eat though.”_ Ray commented, to which Joel replied with,

“ _But you do. I'm being thoughtful, don't pass up this_ opportunity _._ ”

“Sure.” Ray laughed, walking with Joel down the lively streets.

....................................................................................................................................................................

“Can I have a room for 2 please?” Gavin asked the inn keeper. The place was nice and clean, warm and homely.

“Sure, you got a girl eh?” The inn keeper asked him, pulling down a key for room 9.

“No, I'm travelling with a friend.” Gavin dead panned, smiling internally when the inn keeper turned red.

“Ah, okay. Well, here you go – 2 rooms. I hope you enjoy your stay. Its 25 per night for the both of you, but if you're travelling I assume you'll only want to stay 2 or 3 nights?”

“Maybe, I'll have to talk with my friend. He is just getting some supplies so we can stock up for our travels, I've told him were I am so if you see him – dark hair, tall, kinda creepy looking – direct him up please.”

“I will, go get some rest.”

“Thank you!” Gavin smiled.

He took the stairs two at a time (he had both his and Joel's bags precariously on his back) and unlocked the room. He had realised that Joel was blocking him so he left him a whisper for when he stopped blocking him out. Gavin dumped their bags by the door then flopped on the bed and nearly cried out when his horns pumped the wall. He rubbed them, and walked up to a mirror. The reason he had gotten a room was because he could feel the concealment charm wearing off. He guessed he had gotten to the room in time because no one looked twice at him. He pulled out 'A modest proposal' (he had 'found it', and the selling of children as food was interesting enough) and he snuggled into a corned of the first bed, wrapping the sheets around him and leaning over to light the oil lamp before picking up where he folded over the corner of a page.

“ _At least the Earth plane has good literature_ ” He thought, and he delved into the Irish isles, reminiscing of England and why he was chucked out of his home.

“ _Well, I wasn't eaten so there's a start._ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was a bit slow, but it only served to further the plot so I can add in a major even in the next chapter - will we finally see some fighting action? You'll have to wait till next weekend, but for now just shower me with lovely little hearts and suggest how I can improve the fic! <3


	6. A tale of old

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray has doubts about his new demon friend, and Joel shares a tale that not many know of. 
> 
> Then Ray drops a bombshell that not even Joel expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, before you start to read open this (http://mynoise.net/NoiseMachines/winterSoundscapeGenerator.php) and set only the wind (both A & B) low with A being a bit higher than B, and set the birds too (not the crows). This is what I wrote to and every new chapter will have an ambient noise while you read, hopefully helping you to set the scene in your head!  
> Also, sorry in advance because of the huge block of text, I tried to break it up but a huge piece of dialogue (as you know) can become a story of its own.

 

A tale of old

The smell of fresh bread filled the air and made Ray realise just how hungry he was. He dismissed the fact that next to him walked a demon, a very attractive dark haired demon at that. The moment felt very surreal to Ray, and he felt more than happy to sit down outside a busy café, (at Joel's suggestion) with Joel and watch the world whiz by while he talked to the demon. Ray could feel himself get lost in those lovely chocolate brown eyes, and the way Joel's hair shined in the sun, jet black tones almost glimmering, Ray could just look at him all day and not get bored.

A waiter came over to them and took their order: As they waited they chatted and laughed, each moment seemed to flawlessly change into another and Ray loved every single bit of it.

 

When their food arrived Ray watched Joel look decisively over his side of their plate, shrug, and pick up his fork.

“Do you not want it?” Ray asked, his heart fluttering when Joel glanced up smiling, his eyes crinkling in all the right places.

“Not really, I don't need it. I just eat for the taste, you should know that” He replied, taking a mouthful.

“Yeah, I guess, but we were never allowed indulgences like that.” Ray said, and began to eat his side.

“What was it like in heaven.” Joel spoke up after a second, his eyes flicking to the sky comically.

“It was... hard. No, not that kind of hard, jerk.” He said, kicking Joel under the table when the demon snickered at him. “In all seriousness it's hard following the rules of someone you don't have proof of existing. You have so many rules and standards and one wrong move results in- well. You're sitting here with me now, so you see what we get as punishment isn't anything short of horrendous.” Ray said, and he could feel cold tendrils of fear climb up him, suffocating, blinding, but it was all gone when Joel reached out a hand to clasp his. Instead of cold fear Ray felt a warmth spread through him and couldn't help the smile that spread itself across his face.

“It's okay. You don't have to talk about it, but I can assure you that in hell it is much worse.” Joel responded, a shudder of his own working it's way down his spine.

“I assumed as much.” Ray said

Then the conversation died down, and Ray thought more about the demon opposite him. It wasn't strictly against his rules, that being he didn't have rules except the human's laws now. It was bugging him though. How could he feel happy being with a demon? It wasn't your everyday romance and the more Ray thought about it the more he realised that everything about this situation was just _wrong_. Every happy thought, warm fuzzy feeling, it was gone and immediately replaced with fear and dread, what Ray once saw as very handsome became something he was repulsed by and a sick feeling but him off his food. He was so dizzy that he thought he couldn't leave, even if he tried to crawl away.  
“Ray? You've gone pale.” Joel said, and just like that Ray's trance was broken and he stood up. The loud scrape of his chair echoed down the hall and turned some heads, but Ray had already started to stalk off.  
Instead of shouting Joel just walked after him, ignoring the waiter's calls.  
  
“ _Ray, stop. Talk to me”_

Ray didn't reply, rather he tried to address the issue of why he could communicate telepathically. That shouldn't be possible, but maybe the ArchSerapthim had messed up when removing his runes and glyphs. Naturally Ray had assumed all of his powers were stripped from him, but maybe that wasn't the case. He tried to pull up a glyph but nothing happened, so maybe it was just the telepathic talking that was left to him. I had felt natural too, when they first talked to each other's mind, it was like he didn't have to try at all, it just happened.  
“ _Ray? Explain what's wrong. What did I do?”  
_ If he ignored Joel enough he might go away.  
“ _I will follow you until you talk to me, and god help me, I will tie you up if I have to.”_

Ray had to cave at some point but he was disappointed about how little resistance he put up.  
“ _Don't use God's name in vain.”_ He muttered with a tone of objection.  
“So you're finally talking to me then.” Joel aid from behind Ray, who turned, the scowled.  
“What do you want with me.” Ray demanded, crossing his arms and standing his ground.  
“I...don't know. I'll admit that much, but I do know that you're fun. It's not like I want to be around you, but its a lot more fun if I am.” Joel conceded.  
“I'm not supposed to want to be near you though." Ray started, "I'm supposed to hate demons, all of them, but you're – I can't believe I'm saying this – nice. You're nice. You've shown me kindness when all I've been told is that demons kill everyone they see. I don't understand and I'm scared, what do you want with me? Why are you here? I don't even know what I'm thinking, and I can feel something in me that wants to be near you but you're a demon for crying out loud!” Ray snapped, his voice raising to a shout at the end.  
“Ray, have you ever heard of the Demon and Fallen angel lore?” Joel asked quietly. Ray shook his head no. “Sit down, its a long explanation.” Both Joel and Ray sat down on a patch of grass under the shade of a tree, the light breeze caressing them as Joel began his tale quietly.  
  
“In the beginning, when only Heaven existed, all angels were under the rule of god. They had rules that are different to the current one, but no one knows them all. They are only artefacts now, myth and legends. There is one though, one tale, one which everyone knows – or at least they think they do. That of Lucifer. Lucifer wasn't always the god of Hell, as you know he was once an angel too, but he questioned god. He was created as the first perfect angel of Heaven, but Lucifer questioned god's motives, and for that, the highest treason of Heaven, he was sent from Heaven to reside in nothing, the world which came to be known as purgatory. Before this though, Lucifer had risen to enough power to be able to create a new world, one of terror, and the world you and I know as Hell.  
God, obviously, didn't like this so he created the Earth plane and would send his condemned and disloyal angels there instead of risking them being sent to Hell. What god didn't know was that the fallen angels could be preyed upon my Lucifer who found a way to taint their soul, thus creating the first demon. This demon was called Lilith, but her weak body couldn't handle the darkness inside her so Lucifer created a new body, once that was capable of many things and could withstand many things too, its called a demonic capsule. Her new body enabled Lilith to create other demons, so many that demon numbers swelled because humans were the new prey. In order to combat this of course, god sent his angels to protect and guide his humans. What god didn't know and didn't understand, however, was that Lucifer had commanded that if the humans were to be changed into a demon they had to give full consent to the act and had not to be convinced by the demon to change. This rule is our core rule, and going against that has its consequences.  
  
So, with limited numbers of willing humans Lucifer had to think of a new way to create demons. His interest now turned to souls. Souls could not give consent to anything as they don't technically exist, so they are prime for turning into demons, but, they need to be turned a beast, someone who wanted to kill and disrupt and cause chaos. That's where the pit of chains and fire comes in, but also the fallen angels. Their once holy souls were now vulnerable and due to the short lifespan of a fallen angel they amassed many souls and thus many demons. God had no way to change this, and so the demon and angel numbers were constantly rivalled. In the end, god granted human lives to fallen angels, and demon numbers started to dwindle. Along with the normal lives however, the fallen angels were doomed to one last thing. A love they couldn't handle. As punishment for disobeying god the fallen angel's only loves were demons. The incompatibility and unstable relationship between fallen angels and demons was so volatile that both the demon and angel could are unable to hold a relationship, and both were doomed to die.  
  
Lucifer on the other hand was, and is, against the withholding of freedom from demons and angels, so he came up with a solution. His demons who had once been unable to feel anything but pain and hatred could now feel compassion and love. From the unity within Lucifer and his demons came a spark, a hope for all the fallen angels, for all the angels that god had thrown out of Heaven. That hope was love. The fallen angels weren't owned by anyone, they simply existed on earth as humans, so Lucifer took them under his wing, partially making them demons but still keeping their humanity safe and all fallen angels were not to be changed into demons. Its why you can communicate telepathically with me, Ray, but don't be alarmed. You're still a fallen angel.  
The fallen angels were not required to follow any rules of hell, but should they wish they could become demons themselves, though many opt not to. This, the saving of the fallen angels, was what caused the first war between Heaven and Hell and I assume you know who won. Heaven was victorious, and god tried to claim back the fallen angels. However, one angel, the second perfect angel, only known now as Satan, defended the rights of the fallen angels and he too was sent down as a fallen angel. Lucifer acknowledged this and gave Satan a power, the power of might. Satan along with the demons of Hell gave each fallen angel, every fallen angel in the earth plane and opportunity to rebel and fight heaven. This came to be known as the only time heaven was defeated, and thus the fallen angels were then back under Lucifer's protection and have been ever since, but one lasting and erasable aspect from god still resides in the fallen angels: love.  
  
God created once last malice in them, uncertainty and devotion, those things as you know clash. For all Lucifer's trying he couldn't change this and so every fallen angel is tormented by their love for a demon, they love the demon but hate them and can't come to terms with their love and end up, always, killing themselves. Once they are given the choice to enter the world of Hell they are different and don't remember their love for their demon. The fallen angel demons never meet the demon of their affections. It has been this way for centuries, and I doubt anything will change.”  
Joel finished his tale, then sat in silence with Ray by his side.

I was a while before Ray spoke up, the birds chirping merrily filled the comfortable silence and the lazy wind shuffled through the grass beneath them.  


“I wasn't an angel.”

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A cliff hanger! Go on, guess what Ray is. If you guess right I guess you'll earn a mention in the next chapter and a gift fic of your choice (any paring, fandom, situation, whatever, like a prize).  
> Also, I've actually proof read this one (hurrah!) so I'll go back through the chapters and actually proof read those ones too.  
> I'll hopefully get the new chapter out soon, in the meantime you can give me some loving and hit that kudos button <3


	7. I shouldn't exist

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray finally comes clean about who he is, but not what he did. Will it bother Joel, or is the easy going demon just going to put it of?

I shouldn't exist

 

“Not...an angel?” Joel said. He could hear is voice rattle in the silence but it felt as though his mouth had moved of its own accord. “What are you then?”  
  
A pause, then a nervous chuckle, then a sigh. Ray started his tale.

 

“The version of you're story, though all correct, left out a major detail. There weren't 2 wars, there were 3. A fallen angel had repented enough and was deemed worthy enough to return to Heaven Capita, but as the lowest rank – a guardian angel. Of course, there was a huge testimony against this and many angels were angered by this act, even though God himself had willed it. The rebel angels grouped together in private, but God knows all and sees all that goes on in Heaven Capita, so obviously these groups were condemned to fall. However, they didn't, and even to this day no one knows – or speaks – about it. Even the bravest of angels, one of high power, even they sift their eyes and ignore you. Heaven Capita slowly descended into what was known as the Dark days. No one trusted anyone, talking was a rare opportunity that even some people avoided completely. The angels went about their designated jobs and didn't stop, even to mumble a hello. The offending ex-fallen angel was hated and eventually killed.   
This lead to an outrage from the normal fallen angels, who fought once again for their peace and freedom, the demons were kept out of this. This war is now simply referred to as The War of the Fallen. The first war, The Wrought War, that had its consequences for the fallen angels and hit us really hard. We had little to no rights in the way of control, and the second war, as you know it, The War of Ages really helped us. Demons had no part in The War of the Fallen, so I didn't expect you to know about it. With the new way to get back into Heaven Capita as a guardian angel came new threats, death was the most common thing to happen to ex-fallen angels. They were treated terribly, so when the war did happen it happened with force, and the fallen angels won. They pushed back the angels into Heaven Capita and God himself intervened.   
He created me from a...demon. I'm the only one of my kind, the only one to exist, so basically I'm a demon who has been 'saved' because I was important for some reason. The official term for me is “Mortem autem lucens; The death of the shining light” Every angel is born with light in their soul, but the fallen angels have that taken away from them when they descend. It is stored in a vault with their very essence, their runes and their glyphs. I am the result of a war, and I signified the death of the prejudice against ex-fallen and fallen angels alike because I showed that God was willing to forgive even the most evil monster there was. My job was to keep peace, hence why I was an ArchGuard Angelica.   
  
I was now an angel, but with every recollection of being a demon, but I obeyed God, I loved God for saving me and I thanked him everyday with my prayers and I was...happy. This didn't last long though, and the peace I was meant to be keeping faltered when I...I...did something I shouldn't have. It was so bad, so evil, so merciless that God himself addressed me. I was chained for my...crime... and was later forced into being a fallen angel – Joel, I'm not meant to be an angel, let alone a fallen one. I'm unstable because I'm two beings in one, I'm still a demon – something deep inside could never change. I hoped that it would be fine, I hoped it wouldn't matter but I don't think that is the case. Not much is known about me as I'm the first of my kind, but I know that I could never have all my powers striped from me. I was created to appease the fallen angels, but now I no longer serve that purpose and everything I was and stood for is broken. Cracked. I don't know how long Heaven Capita will last without me. I'm thankful I'm not demon, and I can't empathise with you and even being with you is strange. I'm still some part demon, and it's killing me, Joel. I don't know who I am any more, but I do know the angel in me is fighting the remnants of the demon – and its winning.”

Ray could feel Joel's eyes on him. He had known this all along, but Ray had hoped that being a fallen angel would cancel out his abilities.

 

“What crime did you commit?” Joel asked after a while of thoughtful silence.

Ray just shook his head.

“Okay, I dont need to know, I'm sure I've done worse. No, believe me I have- don't laugh at me!”  
“No, but what I did probably doesn't compare to some demony shit you've done” Ray chuckled.

“This isn't a battle of whose done the worst shit because I would totally win. But seriously, I don't really understand, why were you created? Were you a hope symbol or something? A protector?”

“No, I was a peace keeper. That's all I was told, and that's all I did. Keep the peace.” Ray replied.

Joel's reply was a simple 'hmm' of contemplation, and the two went back into their silence.

“Did you have to. Keep the peace I mean.” Joel asked quietly.

“Yes, I had no choice in the matter.”  
“Well that sucks.”  
Ray laughed, “It sure does. Anyway enough about me, more about you. What do you look like?”

“What? Don't you have eyes?” Joel said incredulously.

“Yeah, and I can see a shimmer of magic around you so show me what you really look like. Were near the edge of a forest, no one is around.”

“Fine.”

Joel lifted his hands slightly and moved his glyphs around him, until he could feel the spell slink of of him and he could see his runes on his arms. He watched Ray's eyes grow wide with awe and curiosity, and didn't move when Ray lifted a hand up to his horns. Feeling him lightly caress them sent shivers down his spine, no one really touched them as they were so common, but to have someone touch them like Ray was doing...  
He leant into Ray's touch and sighed contently, a smile on his face.

“They're...amazing.” Ray whispered.

“Wait until you see what my power is.” Joel replied, them moved slightly away so Ray could sit up and watch him.  
Joel then pushed up his fire into existence. His red runes glowed as he pulled up the demon fire, the red flames settled quickly and burned with a slight black glow to the edges. He danced the flames around his hand and arm, then pushed them back down into his runes.  
“I wish I could do that. Though, what I used to be able to do was almost as good, hey, even better.” Ray said, tracing the runes on Joel's arm once the flames had died down.

“And what could you do?” Joel asked, to which Ray replied simply,  
“Control light. Make it an entity, a shield, anything.”

“That sounds very useful – no? Why.” Joel said, as Ray started to shake his head and smile.

“Its not, it was another burden. The normal angels saw it as manipulating the light from their souls.”  
“Your life doesn't seem very bright does it?” Joel muttered, laughing as Ray fake punched him for his shitty pun.  
“I'm hoping it can get better.” Ray said.

“How about you let me help you?” Joel asked, holding out his hand. “I'm not bothered about who you are, what you are, anything.”  
“That is the nicest and most offensive thing anyone has ever said to me.” Ray stated.  
“Shut up, I'm trying to be nice here. I'm a demon, your a...look, it doesn't matter to me. What matter is that you are now a fallen angel, and I'm a demon, and honestly I think I'm starting to like you.”  
“Its been a day.  
“I know Ray.”  
“One. Day.”  
“Yes.”  
“Well, actually, you can help me. There someone at the place I'm staying who seems...odd. Strange. Come meet him with me tomorrow and your demon friend can tag along. I'll decide if I would like your help overnight, you're asking a big thing of me and I feel kinda overwhelmed, but not in a bad way, just a surprising way.” Ray said, then stood up. “We'll meet at the plaza in the morning, at 9 hours into the day.”  
“Of course,” Joel replied while he too stood up. “I hope you'll be safe for the night, your 'strange friend' seems like an unsafe one.”  
“I can keep myself safe, I'm not that needy enough for you to walk by me every second.” Ray said irritably.  
“Yeah, whatever. I'll see you tomorrow, Ray.”  
“Likewise, Joel”  
  
The two men parted ways and Ray headed to his temporary home. There was just one ill child with it's mother, so Ray retired upstairs with a slight wave toward Adam, who smiled and waved back.   
  


Ray didn't know what he felt. On one hand he was starting to warm up to Joel, the conversation about their histories seemed bonding enough, but on the other he was still frightened by the demon. He had nothing to do though, and he had always loved adventure even if he was prohibited to move from Heaven Capita to anywhere dangerous, so it would be in his best interest to go with Joel and his friend, but, he was risking his life with the very essence of what he had never experienced in his life. As the day grew dark Ray grew more restless and he tossed in his bed for most of the night before he decided that he would travel with Joel and his friend. He would help them, and in turn they could help him. Ray had no requirements from neither Heaven nor Hell, so he was free to do as he wished, so he smiled into his pillow as he drifted to sleep, the memory Joel's glowing runes comforting and lulling him into their soft red trance of bliss.

 

It was a friend-help-friend situation that Ray woke up to. His situation wasn't the worst he's been in, and if Joel and his friend could help him, he could help them.  
Ray slumped lazily out of bed, washed and dressed, then ambled downstairs to where he could smell eggs being cooked. No one was ill at the moment, so he, Adam, and Ben had a day off. Kinda. Ray entered the kitchen and immediately there was a sense of tension. Adam was at the cooker humming happily but Ben was sat rigidly at the table; back straight, head up. Even Adam's humming eventually died down, and Ray just shook his head and said,  
“G'mornin, I'm goin out. I know its a bit early, but I gotta friend I'm gonna meet.”   
The two men nodded (Ben more stared at him than nodded), so instead of stumbling over more words Ray left, happy to leave the situation. He wondered how Adam felt, but maybe he didn't sense the cloying dread that had filled the room.  
Ray still had an hour to kill before he met up with Joel so he decided to visit a café to relax before the inevitable shitstorm. Ordering a strong tea and some toast, Ray reclined into his seat. Now he was out of the kitchen and the terrible atmosphere he could finally think properly about his proposal to Joel without sleep or fear influencing his decision. Yes, he had decided, but it didn't hurt to be absolutely sure.   
  
On the one hand he could potentially save Adam from a potentially dangerous Ben, but on the other hand maybe Adam knew, and was safe.  
Joel could accidentally do something stupid and demon related, but it could save a life. Maybe.

Also, Ray had a reason to go with Joel to help him. Ray hadn't really been thinking about much else, and if he was being completely honest with himself Joel was all he had thought about. It was like a school girl crush, but only with a demon. It wasn't the best situation, and if - no - because Ray didn't like Joel in _that_ way he wouldn't have to worry about the complexity of him not really being anything. But then again, there was. Ray knew his demon side was fading fast, he could feel it, and maybe it was a good thing, maybe it was bad thing. As he stood, Ray thought the demon in his was definitely getting smaller, more like the angel side of him was battling – and winning too. If he could be a stable person at least he wouldn't have to worry about that part of him. He did know that he had no magic of any kind though, he could only see Joel's runes and horns when Joel didn't have a spell on them. That didn't mean that Ray didn't know when magic was being used or not, that knowledge was learnt through years of practise.   
It was at that point that Ray noticed it was 8:57, (thanks to the café clock) so he put down some coins on his now empty plate and left hurriedly for the plaza.  
  
“ _Maybe..maybe this'll turn out alright. Yeah, maybe it will_ ” Ray thought, then smiled as he saw Joel and a sandy haired man standing by his side. “ _It'll definitely be alright._ ”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot twist or what? Remember, updates at the weekend - providing I'm on schedule. Also, Well done to CatInTheBox for getting some of the whole Ray ordeal right, I didn't say anything because of spoilers.

**Author's Note:**

> Updates now every Friday (hopefully), so don't forget to bookmark this work!


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